Wednesday, November 19, 2008

As I left home this morning for work, I noticed that the big Ginko tree I mention earlier was raining yellow leaves. I fully expect it to be bare by the time I get home this evening. Love that tree. Wish I had room for one in my yard.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Just got back from spending 3 glorious days in wild and wonderful West Virginia. Ate, drank, talked, laughed, hiked, painted, wrote in my journal, laughed some more. Even though it's a long drive, it's always one of the most relaxing vacations I can take. Thought I'd share the two little watercolors I made. The one of the shagbark hickory leaves was a first for me. I drew it in my journal in pen from life, then later used the drawing to create the painting. I usually paint directly from the subject. I was rather pleased with the outcome. Think I'll hang on to this one.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Today the rain has brought down most of the leaves in my yard. The crepe myrtles are the last to go and they are almost bare. I'm keeping an eye on the ginko at the end of the block. Its leaves are all still attached but mostly yellow now. I'm anticipating the day that I look up and every single leaf is in a neat pile at the base of the tree. Ginkos are the most polite trees around.

The squirrels are busier than I've ever seen them. Or maybe I'm just more tuned in to them this year. There are several who call my garden home that I have named because of an identifying anomaly. There's Carmen who has a crooked tail. She started out being "Crooked Tail", then "CT" which made me think of an old friend named Carmen Teresa so the squirrel became "Carmen." There's another with a white tip on his tail so he's "Tipper," and a juvenile with a bald tail that looks like a rat, hence "Pettigrew" for the character in Harry Potter who's animal form was a rat. Sounds like I need to get a life. I recently named my "estate" (a small city lot) Squirrels' Leap. I read that James Madison said his home at Montpelier was a "squirrel's jump from heaven" and it's how I feel about my home, too.

I've been thinking that almost-a-painting-a-day is a misnomer for this blog. Then I thought I could try to "paint" with words even when I can't get the watercolors out. We'll see...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It really looks like autumn around town now. The crepe myrtles and dogwoods in my garden have turned a lovely red and the river birches are almost naked already. Didn't have as many trick or treaters Friday night as last year but still ran out of candy by about 7:30. Friday night football at the field near my house was in full swing so maybe that kept the teenage crowd busy. As promised, below are images of the cover and some of the pages from the nature journal I created at Flower Camp last weekend. I'm still working on a couple more. Enjoy!